Technical Field
This disclosure relates to assay devices and more particularly to techniques for detailed assay configuration.
Description of the Related Art
Assay devices are often used to determine characteristics of test samples, e.g., using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) melt techniques, or immunoassay techniques. Typically, an assay device has software/circuitry configured to perform instrument control (e.g., run motors, optics, heaters, etc.) and run the assay protocol. This, however, can make it difficult to develop new or modified assays because changes to the assay protocol may require extensive re-validation of the assay device software or at least the reconfigured portions. This can increase costs and delay the time to market of new or modified diagnostic assays that require regulatory clearance or approval. In addition, assay device users and third party developers may have no ability or only limited ability to create new or customized assay protocols and generate customized reports based on user-specified information if changes to the assay device software are required.